The division of administration and finance quietly revised the university’s space use policy Oct. 4, removing a controversial section that prohibited hate speech in chalk drawings.
“The portion of the policy that contained the chalking language, which allows for advertising of programs and events, was not part of the section that was updated this summer. Upon further review of it this fall, we also removed the reference to hate speech in that section to ensure compliance with the First Amendment,” Communications Director DeWayne Lehman wrote in an email.
The section was not included in a 2017 version of the policy found on the university’s website. The Mass Media was unable to to obtain any other revisions, though archived versions of the site link to a removed version of the policy dated April 2024.
“Chalking that contains hate-oriented language or a similar remark is not permitted and will be removed immediately. Violators will be held to the Student Code of Conduct,” the removed section read.
Attorneys Harvey Silverglate and Gregory Sullivan, who reviewed the policy last month at the request of The Mass Media, said the section likely violated the First Amendment. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression also called the restriction unconstitutional in a Sept. 23 letter to Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco.
“The ability to speak one’s mind is a core principle of expressive freedom, even if others find the message to be offensive or uncomfortable. FIRE wrote to UMass Boston on September 23 criticizing this policy language, and the university laudably took our advice and amended its policy,” FIRE Policy Reform Program Manager Ross Marchand wrote in a statement.
The updated policy now states that all chalk will be removed after 48 hours.
FIRE’s letter also called on the university to revise the section about impromptu protests. That section remains unchanged in the most recent version of the policy.
Wrote Marchand, “While the university should still strive to reform its confusingly-written policy language on ‘Impromptu Protest or Demonstration[s],’ the change in chalking rules is a promising start. We invite the administration to reach out and work with us to reform the Impromptu Protest or Demonstration policy provision.”
